In 1969, Denis Hayes was 25 years old in grad school. After just one semester and a 15-minute meeting with Sen. Gaylord Nelson in Washington, D.C., Hayes traded in his academic books for a picket sign and became a central organizer of the nonprofit group Environmental Teach-In, Inc., which would found Earth Day in 1970.
After the first Earth Day, a momentous accomplishment in and of itself, Hayes and his colleagues continued their activism by campaigning against the “Dirty Dozen”of incumbent anti-environment congressmen. Ultimately defeating seven out of the 12 congressmen, the group’s advocacy was also integral to the passage of the Clean Air Act shortly after the 1970 midterm elections.
Parable of the Sower, and
A Childrenâs Bible by Lydia Millet. Even just assembling a general reading list by Black and Indigenous folks can be instrumental, since for a long time the environmental movement has been predominantly white.
âIf folks can take the time and take the steps to decolonize and diversify the content theyâre consuming about the climate crisis and broaden their understanding beyond just saving the polar bears, recycling, using metal straws,â Agrawal-Hardin says, âand rather turning to Indigenous knowledge or putting Black families and women first ⦠it s really radical and important that individuals start to understand why those things are of importance when it comes to the environment.â
Facing a climate crisis, these youth activists stay focused on solutions
Ellen Sciales on Tuesday joined a group of Democratic legislators outside the US Capitol as they reintroduced the Green New Deal, the sweeping progressive climate proposal first brought to Congress in 2019.
Sciales, a 24-year-old press secretary for the youth-led climate activist group Sunrise Movement, presented her vision for bold climate action, which she believes should include a guarantee of good jobs for all Americans, including young people.
“If you’re a young person watching this and you’re ready to get to work to build a better world, join us, join our movement, and let’s get to work,” Sciales said to the crowd outside the Capitol.
Our climate is changing. We can keep arguing about what’s causing it or whose fault it is (or isn’t) and what we should be doing about it, but the reality is our Earth is a different place than it was one million years ago, 100 years ago and even one year ago.
Since last Earth Day, the severity of wildfires has continued to escalate which, along with other factors, has contributed to our worsening air quality and current drought conditions have warranted a state of emergency in Utah, threatening not only our water but our precious snow and ski season.
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